


Movement

by The_Ghost_King



Series: Hozier Inspired [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Dance, Bisexual Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Has Issues, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Doesn't Have A Metal Arm, Gay Bucky Barnes, His dad died tho, Hurt/Comfort, I write this for the gays, Inspired by a Hozier Song, M/M, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, POV Bucky Barnes, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Song: Movement (Hozier), Title from a Hozier Song, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony does ballet, a bit of it at the end, altho neither of those things are really all that important to the fic but still, so does natasha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 09:13:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18617611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Ghost_King/pseuds/The_Ghost_King
Summary: Bucky knows it’s kinda creepy at this point but it’s too late, way too fucking late, for that shit. It had been too late when he showed up to the third match. It’d been downright creepy when he showed up for the seventh and now here he is, a year and countless matches along, and he has, realistically, passed creepy a good long while ago.Bucky's saw Tony dance once and he's been hooked ever since. He can't get enough of the ballet dancer's moves, something about them is mesmerising. Bucky doesn't want it to ever stop.





	Movement

**Author's Note:**

> So this is inspired by Hozier's [ Movement](https://youtu.be/OSye8OO5TkM) It's a great song.
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy

Bucky knows it’s kinda creepy at this point but it’s too late, way too fucking late, for that shit. It had been too late when he showed up to the third match. It’d been downright creepy when he showed up for the seventh and now here he is, a year and countless matches along, and he has, realistically, passed creepy a good long while ago. He just can’t get himself to stop. He doesn’t think he’s capable, not after all this time.

See, it had started last year. Bucky had come to the dance school in town to pick his friend Natasha up from her ballet classes but he’d gotten lost on the way to the ballet rooms. Instead, he’d followed the sound of a somewhat familiar song to a room with a lone boy, dressed in nude tights, without a shirt and with messy curly hair doing some sort of choreography. 

Bucky knew nothing about dance back then, not really at least. He’d heard some terms from Natasha and remembered them. Knew that there were five positions in ballet and knew what a pirouette was but that’s where his knowledge had ended. He knew nothing of dance but he’d known that the boy in the room was something special.

He moved with the music as if nothing existed but the song and him and Bucky was enamoured by it. He watched, with bated breath, as the boy leapt and turned. As he threw himself to the ground and stood back up again. He watched, in awe of every turn and every slight movement of the hand. 

He’d never seen anything that beautiful before, ever. If he could have he would have watched forever. He would have stood there outside of the dance room and watched the curly haired boy move his lithe body in ways that Bucky could never replicate. He would have stood there until he turned to stone. 

Natasha found him though and tugged him away from the room telling him he was disturbing the dancer.

“Who is he?” Bucky had asked. Tone somewhere close to reverence. Normally Natasha wouldn’t have answered but that day she’d simply said, “His name’s Tony,” and nothing more.

Later on, Bucky had succeeded in wheedling some more information about Tony out of Natasha. His last name is Stark, like the name of the people that own the dance school that Natasha goes to, and he’s been dancing since he could walk. He’d done every style of dance but seemed to be the most comfortable with ballet, the first type he’d learned, and he was part of a group that went to competitions which could be attended by any who wished to do so.

Bucky had jumped at the first chance to go and had dragged his best friend Steve with him who had brought Natasha as well. They were talking a little before the first team, Tony’s, would start. As soon as the lights dimmed and Tony’s group had started dancing everything faded but him. 

There’s a certain beauty in dance, in the way the body contorts and reshapes itself. In the way that the dancers defy gravity and tell entire stories with the twitch of a finger. Bucky had known that, he’d been aware of it, couldn’t not have been with a friend as involved in dance as Natasha, but Tony was the one who made him  _ understand _ where people were coming from when they said that a performance had touched their heart or that they’d been moved by the unspoken story.

By the end of that performance Bucky had been in tears, crying silently in the bleachers, and he’d never been happier. Steve and Natasha had been very confused and they’d decided they’d leave him to his future competition viewing escapades.

He’d come home that night and eaten his entire plate of food, he’d made small talk with his family and for the first time since the accident he’d laughed. Genuinely and not something so fragile that the slightest breeze could make it crumble to dust.

He’d seen his mother wipe tears from her eyes before he went to bed and he knew by then that he’d probably go and see Tony dance again, and again, and again.

So, of course, he’s here now at another competition waiting for his favourite dancer to come on stage.

* * *

Some nights, Bucky still dreams of the accident in which his father died. It’s never very coherent, just flashes and sounds, a gathering of regret and fear.  He always wakes with a startle, his dad’s name on his lips, one arm stretched out in front of him as if he’s reaching out. 

The accident hadn’t cost him much. Bucky had been quite alright actually. His dad had thrown an arm in front of him at the last moment to keep him from shooting forward and the airbag had protected him from the shock of the car hitting a tree. When the EMTs checked him over. All he had was a concussion and some scrapes and quickly forming bruises. George Barnes hadn’t been that lucky.

The funeral had been a quiet and small affair. Friends and family present. His mother had prepared a eulogy but only gotten a paragraph in before she burst into tears. Bucky had read the rest for her, tears in his eyes and voice straining. Afterwards, he’d collapsed back into his seat and bawled his eyes out. Steve had been right there next to him, providing comfort to the best of his abilities.

The nightmares come often enough that he’s established a routine once he wakes up. The first thing he does is calm his breathing. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. Once his breathing has settled his hands will most likely have stopped shaking. 

After his breathing exercise he wiggles his toes, then his feet, then his legs, shaking every body part until he reaches his fingers. Making sure that they’re still there, that he can move them and that nothing hurts.

Then he gets out of bed.

Bucky makes his way downstairs slow, holding on to the railing for support, and pours himself a glass of water. He drinks it at the kitchen table, looking outside through the window and staring up at the moon. He exhales slow and closes his eyes, tries to dispel the haunting images from his mind. It doesn’t work.

He puts his glass in the sink and goes back to his room. He lays down on the bed, puts his earphones in and plugs them into his phone. Before he would’ve been calling Steve right about now, or waking up his mother. Instead, he looks ‘Tony Stark performance’ up on Youtube and loses himself to the movement.

The real reason that he can’t stop watching Tony is that Tony helps him forget.

* * *

There’s another competition coming up and Bucky’s got front row seats again. Tony’s competing with his group later, as he tends to do, but first he’s going to perform on his own. Bucky doesn’t completely know what to expect this time around. There have been rumours going around that Tony had some sort of falling out with his father about this particular performance. That his father objected to the choreography and the music, that he objected to the entire project but that Tony had enforced his will and would be performing it anyway.

As the lights dimmed the entire audience held their breath.

The music starts low and slow. With Tony in centre stage, standing still. When he starts to move there’s hesitation and trepidation in his every motion. He’s unsure and scared. Somehow unwilling to do what he knows he has to do. He’s running from something deep within himself that he can’t escape but that’s not going to stop him from trying.

The chorus hits and Bucky forgets how to breathe.

There are leaps and turns and  _ movement _ like none he’s ever seen before. It’s broad and big and as quick as it’s started the chorus is over and the uncertainty has returned.

Slow turns and fluid movements convey a change in tone. There’s an air of freedom creeping up on them with every one of Tony’s motions. 

He’s leaping on stage, twisting and turning seemingly gaining more and more confidence with every move. With every quick flick of the wrist or turn of the head. A grin is starting to creep up on Tony’s face and Bucky has never wished he could dance more than in this moment. He just wants to climb up on stage with Tony, dance around with him, watch him  _ move _ .

Bucky might not believe in God but he’s sure that he’s having some sort of religious experience. 

He never wants it to end.

The second chorus is an explosion of passion and confidence. Tony is cocksure in his every move, he’s bursting with life and passion. Dancing like all the world’s a stage and it belongs to him and it’s only at the end of it that he starts to slow, retreat back into his shell. Hesitation turns to wonder and then he’s twisting and leaping again. The chorus blasts and Tony moves and moves and  _ moves _ .

He ends the dance back in centre stage, back straight, smirking confident and cocky, hooded eyes that Bucky could have sworn are directly looking at him.

Then the lights are turned back on and the moment is over. Applause follows and Bucky claps the hardest he ever has for any performance he’s ever attended.

* * *

Once the competition is over it’s dark outside. Tony had won first place for his individual dance and first place with his dance team and Bucky hadn’t expected any different. 

The competition took place near his house so Bucky had walked there. It’s a pretty night, tranquil. With a clear sky that allows him to wander around and look at the moon. There are even a few stars.

Bucky pulls out his phone to check if there’s anything on the location’s website about the competition and if they’re releasing recordings of the performances or not. Bucky had recorded it himself, of course, but he’s noticed that the HD recordings work a little better in calming him down in the middle of the night. 

He found the song that Tony had been dancing to and had downloaded it when he was still in the building because they had free WiFi. Currently, he’s staring at the ground as he walks and plugs his earphones in. He puts the song on repeat and lets the melody wash over him. If he closes his eyes he can almost see Tony dancing and a smile breaks out on his face at the thought of the phenomenal dancer.

Bucky knows that it’s kinda messed up to be this obsessed with someone. To go to all their matches and watch recordings of them in the middle of the night and to listen to the music they use in their dance routines because it helps calm you down but he can’t help it. He’s not planning on ever meeting Tony anyway. He’s content watching from afar, being moved by Tony’s movements is more than enough for him. He doesn’t want anything else, doesn’t need it. 

Or so he vehemently reminds himself.

(It’s not at all as if he’s been wondering about the type of person Tony is or how his laugh might sound or if he would like to be the little spoon or the small spoon when people cuddle him.)

* * *

The next time he comes to Natasha’s dance school it’s because Nat had left her bag with her food in it at home and it was easier for Bucky to come bring it than it would be for her to get something else to eat.

He drops off the bag with no problem and on his way back to the entrance he hears a familiar deep lulling tone pulling him in and he can’t help but follow it.

The origin of the music is, unsurprisingly, a dance room. With a singular dancer with brown curly hair, nude tights and no shirt. 

But Tony isn’t dancing. 

He’s sitting on the floor in the middle of the room with his head in his hands and the faintest tremble to his shoulders. Bucky doesn’t know what to do. 

There’s a part of him that wants to walk in and comfort Tony, be there for him in the same way his performances have been there for Bucky. But a different more rational part of his brain is yelling at him that this is an invasion of privacy and that he should leave before Tony notices that he’s there. He can’t come to a decision though because suddenly Tony’s head snaps up. He looks Bucky right in the eyes and his glare is stone cold and furious. The eyes of an avenging angel. 

Tony stands up quickly and stalks towards the door, muscles taut and a murderous look in his eyes. Bucky kind of wants to bolt but he’s paralysed. Can’t do anything except stand there and wait for Tony to come to him.

“Who the  _ fuck _ are you,” Tony says when he opens the door. His voice is venomous and angry it makes Bucky want to recoil.

“I-, I-,” he stammers, “Sorry?” Bucky says.

“Who the  _ fuck _ are you,” Tony says again and his voice sounds hoarse. His breath hitches on the last word and when Bucky takes a second to really look at him he notices the dried tear tracks on his cheeks and the redness of his eyes.

Something within Bucky shifts and speaking becomes a lot less difficult all of a sudden.

“My name’s Bucky,” he says, “I heard the music and recognised it from your latest performance and followed it here, was just about to leave when I saw you sitting there. Figured I had come by at an unfortunate time.”

“Yeah, something like that,” Tony says and he’s trying for humour Bucky thinks but the words just come out exhausted.

Bucky figures it’s time for him to take his leave and he wants to say something like that, tell Tony that he won’t bother him anymore, but Tony opens his mouth first.

“I’ve seen you before. You’ve been in the front row for a bunch of my performances.” 

Bucky’s heart fucking stops. Logically, he’d know, somewhere in some far off place buried deep within his mind, that it was plausible that Tony might have noticed him lurking around competitions before but being confronted with his lurking wasn’t really something he’d spent a lot of time contemplating.

“Yeah,” Bucky says and it comes out somewhat strained, “I saw you practising in here months ago when I came to pick up my friend Natasha. I’ve gone to a bunch of your comps since.”

“Really?” Tony asks.

“Yup, I guess there was just something about seeing you dance that made that I couldn’t stop.” 

Bucky hadn’t looked Tony in the eye at all when he said any of this but he looks up now. Tony’s staring at him, there’s something in his eyes that Bucky can’t decipher but he wishes he could. Tony stays silent for quite some time and Bucky’s thinking about the fastest and least humiliating way for him to get himself the fuck out of this situation again. 

_ I can pretend to suddenly go through my ankle and then just book it? Or maybe I can try to just very subtly walk backwards until I can disappear around the corner and then book it?  _ **_Please_ ** _ God let me  _ **_leave_ ** _ I have done nothing to deserve this. Maybe the ground can just fucking swallow me up, a random spontaneous concentrated sinkhole that only harms one guy on the second floor of a dance building that would be f- _

“Come in,” Tony says and Bucky’s thoughts screech to a halt.

“What?” he says and he probably looks ridiculous with the dumbfounded look that he knows is plastered on his face.

“Come in,” Tony says again, “Bucky right?” Bucky nods.

“Yeah okay, Bucky, come in. I’m fucking tired of crying in this room on my own, you’re here and I’m dragging you with me.” 

Tony’s already moving back into the room and Bucky can’t help but go along. Tony moves like a dancer still and Bucky will forever be mesmerised.

“Sure, whatever you say.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I think the ending is a bit abrupt too.   
> .  
> .  
> .
> 
> So the first dance Bucky sees Tony do is [ this](https://youtu.be/c-tW0CkvdDI) because yes.  
> and the second dance he does is the dance that Sergei does in the [ Movement](https://youtu.be/OSye8OO5TkM) music video. Tony follows the first Sergei that walks in basically.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoyed and leave a comment if you want.


End file.
